June 12th

June 12, 2014

Cursing slow internet speeds is almost a local pastime in Mono County, especially in the communities outside of Mammoth where upload speeds of less than one megabit per second are common.

That might be about to change if a new provider, Burlingame, California-based Race Telecommunications, Inc., gets the approval of the state Public Utilities Commission to build the “final mile” fiber-optic broadband cable to the communities of Aspen Springs, Chalfant, Crowley Lake and Sunny Slopes.

June 9th

June 9, 2014

A 54-year-old French national died in Death Valley National Park this weekend after he spent about an hour exposed to 115-degree temperatures, although the exact cause of his death has not been identified.

According to the Inyo County Sheriff's Department, Guy Brossart was found dead on June 6 at about 3:30 p.m. after failing to return to a tour bus, following a brief stop at the Mesquite Dunes.

June 5, 2014

The newest member of the Mammoth Track Club did not take long to make a bold statement last weekend.

Shadrack Biwott, who until recently ran for the University of Oregon, was the top American male in the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon on Sunday, June 1 took 6th place, with MTC’s Gabe Proctor placing 8th, in a field of nearly 25,000 runners.

June 5, 2014

The 2014 Election closed this past week, with a landslide decision in the race for Mono County Sheriff, a surprise victory in Supervisors District 5 and three new members of the Mammoth Town Council.

Ingrid Braun, 46, a 21-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department who last year was dismissed from her deputy’s position by Sheriff Ralph Obenberger, won election against Obenberger Tuesday night, June 3.

June 3, 2014

Road construction on the Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park began this week, and will continue through September 30, 2015. This two-year rehabilitation project is a multi-phased construction project that encompasses improvements to the Tuolumne Grove Parking Lot and the Tioga Road Corridor. This phase of the rehabilitation work will include a 15 mile segment along the road from the Crane Flat Intersection to just east of White Wolf. The construction work will include improvements to culvert drainages, road grading and pavement resurfacing, new signage, and road striping.

June 2nd

June 2, 2014

It has been 20 years since Mammoth has had eight non-incumbent candidates running for three open Town Council seats. The race for Mono County Sheriff started out as a volatile contest, and then just kept getting more so.

Three candidates—Stacy Corless, Greg Eckert and Kirk Stapp—are running for an open seat on the Board of Supervisors from the Mammoth-only District 5.

May 29th

May 29, 2014

The drought winter has allowed more access to Mammoth-area trails, roads and campgrounds than is normal for late May and June, but many high country trails are still covered in snow if they are above 10,000 elevation and/or if they are on north-facing, shaded slopes.

Several campgrounds are also still closed, due to issues with infrastructure or access.

According to the Inyo National Forest, the following is a list of the status of most of the area roads, campgrounds and trails, with a new update expected on Friday, May 30. That update will be posted at mammothtimes..com.

May 29, 2014

A toxic and carcinogenic heavy metal, mercury, has been detected near the Mill City Stamp Mill area in Old Mammoth at levels high enough to trigger a clean up effort but the mercury is not likely to pose a risk to Mammothâ€™s drinking water supplyâ€”nor to people accessing the Mill City area for recreational purposes, scientists said Tuesday.